Cleveland tourism officials say the time is right for a new convention center

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- More than 11 million people are expected to visit downtown Cleveland this year, sparked by a new convention center and an unprecedented number of other tourism developments.

The number of visitors is up from 9 million last year and double the number from two years ago, the region's convention and visitors bureau, said Wednesday.

About half of the $2 billion in tourism-related development scheduled for completion in Northeast Ohio by 2015 is taking place downtown. Business owners and leaders say it's all necessary in order to attract conventions.

The convention business is extremely competitive nationwide, but downtown Cleveland hasn't been much of a consideration until now. The former Cleveland convention center, built in 1928, was already outdated by 1970.

"Fast forward to 2013 and we've got a wonderful state-of-the art convention center coming online, and that's going to allow us to drive large conventions to this area," said Mike Burns, senior vice president of convention sales and services for Positively Cleveland.

Joe Puluzzi, founder of Content Marketing Institute, is bringing his group of 1,500 to the convention center in September. The group met in Columbus last year.

In 2015, two back-to-back conventions are expected to bring 10,000 people to downtown Cleveland.

Major conventions are booked several years in advance, and competition to get them is fierce. In the last 20 years, convention space has increased by 50 percent nationwide. Since 2005, 44 new convention spaces have been planned in cities like Raleigh, N.C., and Nashville, according to the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

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Steve Schwartz, a representative of the International Association of Venue Managers, said he visited Cleveland in December on a college recruitment trip with his 18-year-old daughter and was pleasantly surprised at Cleveland's offerings, a critical factor for a new generation of business travelers. Generation X and Millenials -- the younger people making decisions on where to hold conventions -- see meetings as work, he said. But after work, they want to be in cities with a lot of things to do.

"Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis. What's the difference? Every city that's like Cleveland is like Cleveland," said Schwartz, who is also senior research and policy manager for the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, a nearly 10-year-old convention center in Washington, D.C.

"One of the cool things that's happening is we're kind of rediscovering regions, and the more assets they have to play with the better," he said. "When we left, my daughter said she was disappointed that we didn't eat at a Michael Symon restaurant. Here's an 18-year-old foodie who knows the name."

Positively Cleveland says downtown will see thousands of guests in July when 13,000 athletes and 20,000 spectators check out the Summer National Senior Games, the largest participatory event for athletes over the age of 50. And tourism officials say they're working on reclaiming groups that have left. The Ohio Music Education Association used to bring about 2,000 people to Cleveland every three years but stopped coming in 2006 because the former convention center wasn't up to par. That group is now booked for 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Jack Schron, president and chief executive officer of Jergens Inc., said he reached out to Positively Cleveland for help in bringing the Industrial Supply Association to Cleveland's convention center in 2015. About 1,500 members who make and distribute items used in the manufacturing process for automobile parts, aerospace and medical industries are expected.

Schron said his members will be able to see their manufacturing at work at the adjacent Global Center for Health Innovation, formerly known as the medical mart, and will have plenty of options for after-hours networking at places such as the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland and Playhouse Square's new theaters.

"I'm a hometown boy cheering for Northeast Ohio's comeback," Schron said. "Like so many people in Northeast Ohio, we sit on boards. We're directors and officers of trade organizations and we're the last to think of our own community as a place to have our conventions."

Burns, at Positively Cleveland, said the timing could not be better for opening Cleveland's convention center.

"In general, conventions ride with the economy," he said. "With a new building, we're in a good position as the economy moves upward."

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